Honors

The honors program is designed to enable qualified students to devote a substantial portion of their senior year's course work to an extensive research project, culminating in the writing of a thesis and the completion of an oral examination. Students are expected to work within a field in which they already know the general literature and which Smith faculty can support.

The program allows a student to prepare her honors thesis over two semesters (JUD 430D) for a total of 8 credits.

Requirements for the Honors Major

12 semester courses, with JUD 430d counting for two of them.

Requirements for Admission to Honors

A student majoring in Jewish Studies who intends to submit an application for candidacy in the honors program should first meet with the director of honors in Jewish Studies to obtain the application form and the college's regulation sheet and to make sure that the procedures for admission are understood. Proposals are normally developed during the spring semester of the student's junior year either by directly meeting with a potential thesis adviser or by clarifying the proposal via e–mail if the student is studying abroad.

To be admitted to the honors program a student must have a 3.4 cumulative GPA through her junior year, demonstrate the ability to do independent work, and have her thesis proposal approved by the program by the requisite deadline.The achievement of the minimum GPA is no guarantee that a student's honors proposal will be accepted.

Advisers

A student should arrange to have one faculty member from the program serve as her thesis adviser. The thesis adviser is to supervise the planning, research, writing, and evaluation of the thesis. Because the adviser and candidate will work closely together throughout the duration of the program, a student must make sure that her adviser will not be on leave or on sabbatical during the relevant semesters. In addition, students may suggest the names of other faculty whom they desire to act as readers for the thesis, although the program must approve the second reader.

Application Deadlines

Students are encouraged to submit proposals during the spring semester of her junior year. The college's deadline for application for honors is the third week of September (or the first week of February in the case of students completing their college studies in January). In order for the program to complete its review process, however, applications and proposals must be submitted to the director of honors no later than two weeks before the college's deadline for applying to honors. Students who have not received approval for their projects by the end of the spring semester of their junior year must register for a four–course load for the following semester; if they are admitted to honors they can then drop one or two regular courses during the year and substitute honors.

The Proposal

In addition to completing the college's application form, each student will submit a proposal for honors. The proposal should be approximately three double–spaced typed pages that explain the specifics of the project by outlining the following:

What issues will be explored?

Which historical eras, texts, or thinkers will the project focus upon?

What types of methods will be used?

An initial annotated bibliography including relevant primary and secondary sources should be appended to the proposal. The program may ask a student to rewrite her proposal and to submit it again, but this cannot be done after the college's official deadline. All proposals should be developed under the supervision of a student's potential thesis adviser. Proposals submitted at the last minute and without close consultation with a faculty member often fail to meet the research and scholarly specifications required to secure program approval.

The Thesis

The honors thesis is expected to be a mature and polished piece of undergraduate research. Though there is no minimum or maximum page limit for the thesis, normally they amount to at least fifty pages (double–spaced) and rarely exceed eighty pages.

Deadlines

Jewish Studies follows the college deadlines for due dates. The final version of the thesis is due to the thesis adviser according to the final deadline set by the college. The date of the oral examination is set through negotiation between the honors candidate, the adviser, and the program, and must take place on or before the final day of classes for the semester.

Grading

Honors work in Jewish Studies will be evaluated in the following fashion:

60% for the written thesis

10% for the oral defense

30% for GPA in the Jewish Studies major

Double majors

A student who is pursuing a major in Jewish Studies and another department or program may want to develop an honors thesis project that integrates work from both majors. Please consult the director of honors for more information.